A study in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology has found that heart rates can drastically increase for people watching ice hockey games.Watching games in-person can double your heart rate, the equivalent to the cardiac stress associated with vigorous exercise, according to a news release by academic publisher Elsevier.The issue was raised after two young soccer players — Leia Khairy, 13, and Roxana Barin, 14 — saw how their hearts pumped during games for not only themselves but their parents who were watching, The Canadian Press reports.Barin said parents remarked how stressful games were for them, so the girls wondered if spectators’ hearts were beating as fast as if they were involved in physical activity.Leia’s dad is a cardiologist and helped conduct the study, which involved fans of the Montreal Canadiens.The study found that watching the sport in-person raised the average person’s heart rate by 110 percent and watching a game on TV raised one’s heart rate by 74 percent. The latter is associated with moderate physical stress, the study said.Depending on the intensity and the person, adverse cardiovascular events can be triggered, Dr. Paul Khairy told The Canadian Press.

A study in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology has found that heart rates can drastically increase for people watching ice hockey games.

The issue was raised after two young soccer players — Leia Khairy, 13, and Roxana Barin, 14 — saw how their hearts pumped during games for not only themselves but their parents who were watching, The Canadian Press reports.

Barin said parents remarked how stressful games were for them, so the girls wondered if spectators’ hearts were beating as fast as if they were involved in physical activity.

Leia’s dad is a cardiologist and helped conduct the study, which involved fans of the Montreal Canadiens.

The study found that watching the sport in-person raised the average person’s heart rate by 110 percent and watching a game on TV raised one’s heart rate by 74 percent. The latter is associated with moderate physical stress, the study said.

Depending on the intensity and the person, adverse cardiovascular events can be triggered, Dr. Paul Khairy told The Canadian Press.